The AC/Heat guy was over to service our heater today and I think he might have stolen one of my pistols. I was cleaning it the other day and left it under my gun-rug on my desk(in the basement) and didnt remember to put it away. I left the guy down there for about 2 hours not even realizing it was still down there relativly out in the open. Going through to finish the cleaning process tonight, I come to realize that my pistol is nowhere to be found. I havent had a chance to talk to my roomate yet but I'm leaning HEAVILY towards the AC/Heat guy to be responsible. If after checking with my roomate tomorrow when he gets back into town it turns out the repairman did indeed steal it, what steps should I take? I'm really fucking freaking out right now and dont know what to do.

Damn that sucks. I woudl just hope that friend/roommate/wife might have put it away. AFter they confirm that they did nothing with it (and s long as everything was/is legal about the pistol) I would file a police report and tell them what you told us. Unless you have the serial number written down you may be SOL. I hope the best for you

I'd be sure to call the office for the HVAC company. They might tell you to f*&% off, but they might also have gotten other complaints of theft against this same technician and will see a pattern. Probably won't get you your gun back, but it's about the only thing you can do.

Oh, I wholeheartedly recommend you immediately report it stolen. If it ends up being used in a crime you don't want the serial # being traced back to you if it gets left at the scene. Since the IBIS system is such a flop the ballistic fingerprinting won't be the biggest thing to worry about.

Assuming your roommate didn't take it, definitely file a police report that it was stolen. At least then you'll have an "official" paper trail in case your firearm is used in a bad way. You'll have it on record that you didn't have it in your possession when a crime was committed with it. Cover your butt. I do hope it works out.

Originally Posted By TallNorton:I'd be sure to call the office for the HVAC company. They might tell you to f*&% off, but they might also have gotten other complaints of theft against this same technician and will see a pattern. Probably won't get you your gun back, but it's about the only thing you can do.

Oh, I wholeheartedly recommend you immediately report it stolen. If it ends up being used in a crime you don't want the serial # being traced back to you if it gets left at the scene. Since the IBIS system is such a flop the ballistic fingerprinting won't be the biggest thing to worry about.

Montgomery County Police is on their way. I wont get in trouble for not having the chain-lock on it will I? I mean its in my house, unloaded and all the paperwork is legit on it. Will update with news after I talk to the cops.

Originally Posted By -Mil-Surp-Phreak-:Montgomery County Police is on their way. I wont get in trouble for not having the chain-lock on it will I? I mean its in my house, unloaded and all the paperwork is legit on it. Will update with news after I talk to the cops.

Joe

Check with your roomate; hopefully he or she just put it away. However, good call on reporting it to the police. I seem to recall that MD has some sort of requirement for how long you have between when you discover it stolen and when you report it stolen to the police. Hopefully you have the serial number. When you find out if it was the HVAC guys or not, be sure to let us know which company it was. Good luck.

Originally Posted By -Mil-Surp-Phreak-:Montgomery County Police is on their way. I wont get in trouble for not having the chain-lock on it will I? I mean its in my house, unloaded and all the paperwork is legit on it. Will update with news after I talk to the cops.

Joe

Check with your roomate; hopefully he or she just put it away. However, good call on reporting it to the police. I seem to recall that MD has some sort of requirement for how long you have between when you discover it stolen and when you report it stolen to the police. Hopefully you have the serial number. When you find out if it was the HVAC guys or not, be sure to let us know which company it was. Good luck.

They tried to push through that law last year, but it was one of the bills that was defeated thanks to the dozens of gun owners who sat in the hearings for hours. If anyone ever tells you that going to Annapolis makes no difference, they are wrong.

Ok heres the deal....I've got the report from the officer who stopped by, he went to the HVAC business to try to talk to them and is going to call me tomorrow with more details. I myself talked to the business and got the run-around from someone who wasnt in charge. They seemed to have an attitude when I told them I suspected their employee and insisted that they couldnt do anything for 3 days when the owner of the business returns from "vacation" In talking with the officer, he said there is but a slim chance that I will be able to recover my Sig and very little hope of getting prosecution brought upon whoever took it. Im not too happy with that fact but at least the cop was honest and upfront about that part of the whole mess. I'm fucking livid at myself right now for not taking the extra 30 seconds and putting my pistol away before heading to lunch, but more pissed that someone had the balls to steal something and hope that I wouldnt report it. I will continue to keep everyone up to date on the situation as it drags on. Im not comfortable throwing the name out on the net yet in case of future court appearences. Guess I dont have any excuses not to buy a gun-safe anymore right? An expensive lesson learned on my part. Thanks to all for your concern and your guidance. Wish me luck.....I'll keep you all updated.

The police report is in hand with the investigating officers business card and I did try to call the company. I got the brush-off and was transferred to several different people with no real progress. They wouldnt give me the guy's last name or his Union# and said that the owner of the company was "out of town on vacation for a few more days" and that they couldnt do anything until they returned. I dont want to list the name of the company just yet, but now they are adding to my frustration about the whole dilemma.Be aware of any Sig P229R 9mms with hogue wrap-around grips with one screw missing, and an onboard Insight M3 that may or may not pop up on the market in the Maryland area or on the net. If one does and you do see it, please IM or email me for the Serial# from my stolen Sig P229R. I've alerted my local gunshops and pawnshops of my situation and contacted my uncle who is a lawyer about my legal options against both the individual and the company.I dont think anything further is going to happen until tomorrow afternoon so I will update everyone then. Thanks again to everyone for their continued support and suggestions...Nice to know someone out there feels my pain.

Originally Posted By Trumpet:What HVAC company was it? That way we'll know NOT to use them.

IMHO . . . Not such a good idea to post this and likely not fair at this point either, depends on how the company's owner handles it if/when they find him.

I can assure you that, were it one of my guys, police involvement or not, if he wanted to have his job in the AM, we'd both be going to visit the owner NOW to talk this over.

BUT, I would be very disappointed in my staff if they, in my absence, overstepped their positions regarding accepting responsibility for something like this. Do not mistake this for evasion or protection of the (possibly) guilty. To me, a bit more professionalism in handling your call is certainly in order, but they DO need the owner to address this with you and not say anything that might be misconstrued.

If one has been advised the owner is out of town for a few days, to continue calling is obviously going to be non-productive and inflammatory, and likely taken that way by stressed out underlings.

Want what could seem to be a runaround? Ok, expect results before the "few days" the owner is expected to be away, and this staff has advise you he will be away, expires. . . . for this reason, I'd say to wait for Mil-Surp-Phreak to speak with the owner of the company, who definitely owes him a reasonable response.

I don't run an HVAC company, but do work for a general contractor and these issues will arise. We had a new plumber's helper lift one of the other guy's cell phones while it sat on a counter on the job. Had he not called his mom on it, he might never have been caught, but the accusations flew and several guys were strongly suspected, obviously not all of them were guilty. . . .

Why not to publish the company info?:

#1: There is no proof (yet), so it's all libel, eh?#2: Don't want to jepoardize any legal position if court becomes necessary.#3: Bear in mind that "court" can go both ways, and unfounded accusations in the absence of real proof can easily lead to a libel/slander suit. Why assume the risk?#4: If the employee actually did steal it, he will be terminated (and arrested), and thus no longer a risk#5: The company is really not obligated to, and may not be at liberty to give out any personal details on their employees#6: It's Maryland gun season for deer (Ha!) . . . . my company's owner, and it's GM (me) have both "been on vacation for a few days" - there are more hunters in construction trades than about any other field . . . think it through . . . .#7: The owner might actually be totally temporarily out of touch. Quite a few places right here near metropolis have NO cell service . . . deer camp, for instance.#8: To expect any difinitive action in the ower's absence is unrealistic. There is really no one at my own company that could, or is authorized to, make any sort of command decision in our absence - like many HVAC companies, for instance, it's just not that big.

I easily can see my secretary freaking out at an angry homeowner calling and accusing one of our employees of such a deed, why would not the other company's personnel be evasive and clueless?

I WOULD say, however, that the homeowner had better be treated with the utmost courtesy and that someone had better be calling every dang number they have for me and the our owner as well, should something like that ever happen to us with one of our guys.

Mil-Surp-Phreak, sorry you lost your handgun, man. Talk to your roommate yet? Know him well? I hope it all works out for you. I'd like to hear what the HVAC company's owner has to say when you speak with him.

This is the reason why I never leave a serviceman by themselves. It only takes a second and something is gone. Hell, even when I have been there, I have seen them try to put some of my tools into their boxes. Wether they were stealing or a honest mistake, if I wasn't there the tools would have been gone. I now clean everything up in the area they will be working. And hide the fact that I even have guns, safe and a tools are hidden.

Still waiting for someone from the HVAC company to respond to my call yesterday, and the responding officer has some more follow up things to do so no progress yet. I agree wholeheartedly with what eshell has said about keeping my mouth shut about the business so until I talk to someone in charge there I will reserve judgment on them. When I first called them though I got what sounded like a teenage girl on the other end, and when she asked what had been stolen and I told her a handgun, I got put on hold for a transfer so fast I think I got whiplash lol. As to the questions about my roomate, he has been my best friend since 6th grade so I know when he is lying to me, and besides that, he wasnt even in the house during the time period the HVAC serviceman was. I appreciate that you all are exploring all the possibilities but I have pretty much narrowed it down to 100% sure it was the HVAC guy because I wouldnt steal my own pistol I dont think lol. I've finally stopped being pissed and sobbing when I look at the empty case and am now even more determined to get to the bottom of this. Once again, I will keep you all updated.

JoeETA: Im in Montgomery County and the guy apparently lived in Mt. Airy from what I got from talking to him(before we went into the basement)

once again let me say i am sorry for your loss. i find that there are few happy resolutions in situations like this. Eshell i agree with the things you say but that is also assuming good customer service, A hard thing to find today. Many employers have more loyalty to staff and the path of least resistance. MSF - stay strong and calm and just continue to be a thorn in there side. I know stuff like this throws me into a rage but that seldom accomplishes much. Good luck and definatly keep us updated

eshell,I do agree with what you're saying. But consider this; if one of your employees was thought to have stolen a high dollar item (let alone a handgun) from a client, wouldn't you want to know ASAP regardless of where you were? I sure would. That's why people leave emergency contact numbers, and I would say an employee possibly stealing a handgun from a client is an emergency.

Originally Posted By Trumpet:eshell,I do agree with what you're saying. But consider this; if one of your employees was thought to have stolen a high dollar item (let alone a handgun) from a client, wouldn't you want to know ASAP regardless of where you were? I sure would. That's why people leave emergency contact numbers, and I would say an employee possibly stealing a handgun from a client is an emergency.

R

Absolutely, I DO agree Trumpet, this is as close to a company emergency as it gets w/o blood or fire (or positive home pregnancy test) . . . .that's why I said this above:

I can assure you that, were it one of my guys, police involvement or not, if he wanted to have his job in the AM, we'd both be going to visit the owner NOW to talk this over.

and

I WOULD say, however, that the homeowner had better be treated with the utmost courtesy and that someone had better be calling every dang number they have for me and the our owner as well, should something like that ever happen to us with one of our guys.

There's a small shop down in St Mary's county listing a SIG 229 on his sale flyer as a "new arrival" ....don't know if this refers to a single firerarm or multiples. Let me know how to contact you off board and I will forward you the flyer.

On used guns the serial number gets checked when someone buys the gun and does papers on it.The shops are required to get the seller's name address phone number and drivers license number.If the gun comes up stolen the state police will contact the shop to get this info.

Mil - even one of the cheap safes from Kmart is better than nothing. And it cost a lot less than your pistol did.

It'll probably turn up in a street shooting. I used to work for DNR and the idiot DNR cops, when they got their pistols, would sometimes leave them sitting in the Tawes state office building mail room, so one time, a box of them got stolen. They never reported it to any other law enforcement since they are supposed to be some sort of "law enforcement" (as much a joke as that is). Eventually, as I heard, at least one of the pistols popped up in a Baltimore city shooting.

Originally Posted By kingfish:It'll probably turn up in a street shooting. I used to work for DNR and the idiot DNR cops, when they got their pistols, would sometimes leave them sitting in the Tawes state office building mail room, so one time, a box of them got stolen. They never reported it to any other law enforcement since they are supposed to be some sort of "law enforcement" (as much a joke as that is). Eventually, as I heard, at least one of the pistols popped up in a Baltimore city shooting.

Yet we're the irresponsible gun owners.

I have a glass fronted gun cabinet you can have if money is tight. It's a keep semi honest people honest case. You can have it if you want it. Its up for grabs to anyone for that matter....PLEASE take it!!

I appreciate the offer BBQMan and would take you up on it if I didnt move around so often. I dont know how long I'll be at the place Im at and dont know if I would be able to take it along with me. Let me get through this month and I'll let you know. Thanks again.

I had a SW 29 44 mag that I legally sold turn up in a double homcide. I sold this in good faith to a guy I used to work with. This was back when you could do face to face handgun sales without running through the MSP. To make a long story short, about a year later, I got a knock on the door. It was the ATF wanting to know why a gun registered in my name was involved in a serious crime. I about $hit in my pants. All I needed to do was show proof of the sale of the weapon, which I did. I made a copy of the receipt and gave it to them. Never heard from them again.

It turned out that the guy I sold the 44 to was a convicted felon. I worked with this guy for 2 years and had known him prior for several years. Never knew he was a scum bag. Even went shooting with him many times. Never seemed like one of the bad guys. Luckily on the receipt I had him sign, it stated that he was legally able to own it......CYA

Latest update is.....there is nothing to update. The guy has pretty much gotten away scotfree with my pistol. There isnt enough to charge him with a crime and his company wont do anything unless charges are filed. I've already picked up a 1911 to fill the void and this has pretty much just been a lesson on what not to do....albeit a very expensive lesson. Thanks for the outburst of concern and thoughts everyone. Happy Holidays to you and yours this season.

New Update.....My case has been turned over to the Firearms division of MoCo police so now I might actually be going in the right direction. Talked to the detective today and hes gonna get on it today. Things are starting to look up a little bit but I still entertain no hope of ever getting it back.

Originally Posted By -Mil-Surp-Phreak-:New Update.....My case has been turned over to the Firearms division of MoCo police so now I might actually be going in the right direction. Talked to the detective today and hes gonna get on it today. Things are starting to look up a little bit but I still entertain no hope of ever getting it back.

Joe

Did he mention anything about "leads" or having the whole crime lab working in shift on your case?

"There are advantages to a .308 as well, you can shoot bears and refrigerators."JerodJohnson

There are three types of people in the world. Those know how to count and those who don’t.

Originally Posted By -Mil-Surp-Phreak-:New Update.....My case has been turned over to the Firearms division of MoCo police so now I might actually be going in the right direction. Talked to the detective today and hes gonna get on it today. Things are starting to look up a little bit but I still entertain no hope of ever getting it back.

Joe

Did he mention anything about "leads" or having the whole crime lab working in shift on your case?

And solved in an hour with limited commercial interuption.

"To my mind it is wholly irresponsibly to go into the world incapable of preventing violence, injury, crime, and death. How feeble is the mindset to accept defenselessness. How unnatural. How cheap. How cowardly. How pathetic." -- Ted Nugent